Run Away
by Pechora
Summary: Elise Hazelwood's life is a mess. Living in Norgate fief, her mother and father abused her and Elise was bullied at school. Enough. She decided to run, as fast as her feet could carry her. Her story is that she trained herself to survive in the dark forest. Her real story, though, is something much, much darker...
1. Chapter 1

**Hello. I really can't wait to write this fanfic, so I'll just jump to it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything – just the plot and my OCs.**

Chapter One

Elise was not looking forward to waking up.

Sleep seemed like it was the only relief, the only safe place for her to escape her cruel parents, teachers, and life in general.

Yet, as she lay on her straw mattress staring up at her ceiling, wide awake from her recent nightmare, a heavy, meaty fist pounded on her door, making the wooden boards that made up her room clatter against each other. The fist continued to beat on her door, shaking the walls of her shack she called home.

"ELISE!" her mother screamed. "WAKE UP THIS INSTANT!" Elise didn't reply or move. She heard her mother grunt forcefully and storm away from her door.

Elise inwardly groaned and sat up, throwing the moth eaten, thin, and faded red blanket off her cold body. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked around.

Her room was tiny. It felt like more of a pantry than a room. A single shelf held her few personal belongings while her clothes were stuffed in wooden crates below her bed. The floor was hard wood and full of splinters, ensuring that Elise would have to wear her moccasins wherever she walked.

She stood and stretched, her fingers brushing the ceiling as she did so. She shook her head to jolt her out of her sleep-like trance.

_Focus, _she scolded herself. _You don't want to be useless today._

She pulled out a crate with her clean clothes in them. She pulled out a patched brown skirt and blouse and changed out of her dirty white tunic. She brushed her hair with a smooth wooden comb she made herself, pulling it back into a simple ponytail with the hope that her parents wouldn't object. Who was she kidding?

Of course they would.

She sighed and grabbed a small pocket mirror that she had found on the side of the road. She lifted it up so that she could see her reflection.

The 9 year-old gazed at dusty brown hair and sharp green eyes. Her ponytail complimented her heart shaped face, making her look a few years older than she actually was. Her cheekbones were high and her shoulders were broad, giving her a warrior princess look about her.

"Please, please, please," she prayed, hoping for a better day than every other one in her life. She knew that there was only a tiny chance of it coming true, but she wanted this with all her heart, and from the books she read at school, trusting her heart was a sure sign that you were going the right way, right?

Elise shrugged to herself and smiled. Only one way to find out.

She left the shack and looked around. To her left stood a wave of ominous trees, their leaves red and gold from the autumn. She was told never to go over there, but when she played, her curiosity always got the better of her and she couldn't help but go to the forest edge and peer in, straining to see and explore beyond the tree line. She was reprimanded harshly, but she always thought it was worth it.

She turned her gaze to the right, where her house sat facing a dirt road. It wasn't much to see, but it wasn't an eye sore like her room was. The walls were simple, polished wood and the roof was full of even tiles smiling a toothy grin. A stone chimney up the side of the house was spewing a lazy curl of smoke into the air. Dark green shutters were open to reveal clear windows.

Elise started towards the house, walking through the tall golden grass that stretched as far as the eye could see.

She agreed that her home was a lovely place to live. That is, if you weren't in her situation.

She walked up to a dark green back door and knocked three times. She heard footsteps inside. The door opened to reveal a smiling woman. Her dress was new and unpatched, but the apron she wore was splattered with flour. Her black hair was tied back and her blue eyes were soft and welcoming. She held a bowl full of flour, eggs, milk, and possibly other baking ingredients.

The woman's smile disappeared. "Oh, it's just you," she said, curling her lip in disgust. Elise's heart fell. She'd hoped that her own mother would've complimented her appearance. Instead, she reached a flour-coated hand into her daughter's hair and untied the ponytail.

"You can't wear your hair like this," she said. "You're 9!"

"What does my age have anything to do with it?" Elise muttered. "Everyone else wears their hair like this." Elise knew she had crossed the line. Her mother's expression turned sour. She grabbed her by her dress and gruffly pulled her inside, slamming the door behind her.

Her mother pointed to a wooden chair at a small and circular wooden table. "Sit." Elise obeyed and sat next to her father, who was currently reading a leather-bound journal. She recognized it. The journal had been her grandfather's. She'd only heard stories about him, when her parents were either really drunk or in a very good mood. She absolutely lived for those stories.

Her grandfather had been a pirate: a bloodthirsty, cunning, quick, and very successful pirate. He went by the name of Slit-Throat-Stern, Stern being his middle name. He never let anyone know his first name. Elise's middle name was Lila, making her full name Elise Lila Hazelwood. She doubted that Lila was a good pirate's name.

Once, Stern had burned an entire castle to its foundations (after robbing it, of course) and had held the Royal Family for ransom – even though there was no one that could possibly make the desired payment. Another time, he had sunk 20 ships in half a day. Those events were only a few of the sickening and exhilarating deeds he had carried out.

Elise's father turned the page and continued to read, only once looking over the brim of the journal at Elise and asking, "Your homework done?"

"Yes sir," she said. "I also did extra credit for my-"

"Hey," he interrupted her, raising his palm towards her face. "I don't care. Just keep your grades high, or it will reflect badly on us." She nodded, and looked down at her hands, now folded neatly in her lap.

Her mother set three plates of eggs, bacon, and toast onto the table. Elise's stomach growled. She hadn't gotten home in time for dinner, so she was merely denied it. Elise's mother sat in the remaining chair to her left and looked distastefully at her.

"Eat," she said. Elise grabbed her fork and dug in, eating quickly so she could get to school early and see her favorite teacher, Ms. Serena.

Ms. Serena was the only teacher at her school that showed kindness toward her. She would give her advice, tips, and listen to Elise talk. No one else ever did that. Ever. Plus, with black hair and clear blue eyes, she was by far the prettiest woman in Norgate fief, making everyone want to spend time with the kind and beautiful lady, but she only spent time with Elise, which just made her feel even more special.

She focused her attention mainly on her food, unwilling to look up at her quiet family. She was totally aware of her mother's glare as she wolfed down her breakfast. Meanwhile, her father only took occasional bites, his nose still buried deep in Grandfather's journal. The sound of wood on wood told Elise that her mother had started eating too. She ignored it and kept eating.

Finally, she had finished. She leapt up from the table and ran to the front door, where an old leather bag waited her arrival.

"HEY!" her father boomed. Elise froze, the bag only half on her back and half off. She turned towards him.

"Yes father?" He stood up, the journal on the table now forgotten.

"Clear your dishes!" he said, making wild gestures with his hands. "We're not your servants!" She hung her head. She'd never get to school early now.

"Yes father." She walked over to the table and cleared her dishes. She grabbed a wet towel and started washing her utensils.

Elise was walking down a long, dirt road scattered with sharp brown rocks that occasionally made their way into her moccasins. She stopped for the umpteenth time and took off her shoe, shaking it to let out the dozens of pebbles that's aspiration was to ruin her walk home.

Well they were certainly doing a good job.

She was walking home from a long, hard day at school. Everyone had bullied her, which wasn't really different. Usually, she'd curl up and start drawing. None of the teachers ever took notice.

Today was different. She had decided to fight back.

To be fair, they had started it, but that wasn't stopping Elise, oh no. A school bully had pushed her down, making her bag and all of its contents spill out onto the ground. She bent down to pick her stuff up, but the school children were all over it like kids to a piñata when the candy finally comes bursting out like a colorful waterfall. They sneered at her and circled around her, making fun of her as they went. Elise had weakly put up her fists to the bully – John. He looked around, then suddenly came running at her, a wicked right fist pulled back to his jaw. She leapt to one side and spun, putting her out of harm's way and into an advantageous spot. The bully would've turned around any second, and Elise had to make a split-second decision. She thrust out her right foot and hit the bully square on the back; sending him crashing into a hard, stonewall. He had crumpled to the ground, a bead of blood trickling down the side of his face.

The school children noticed something over their shoulders, thrown Elise's stuff everywhere, and fled. Elise hurriedly picked of her papers, bending over to pick up her English homework and standing to meet the head master's cold, beady eyes.

So she had been expelled and sent home early, despite the protests she had given. She was not looking forward to seeing her parents again. They'd scream and…

A tear refused to stay hidden deep inside Elise and slid down her cheek. She hugged her school materials and cried, not holding the tears back as she normally did. She hated her life. She hated everyone in it. The only reason she stayed was because of Ms. Serena, and she was getting married to the Baron in a few weeks. Today was her last day of being a teacher. She'd be yanked out of Elise's life and she'd have nothing. Absolutely nothing that she cared about.

But now, she was free. She realized that now, she could do anything she wanted. There was nothing holding her down, nothing that she couldn't do.

She looked ahead at the forest that had been haunting her childhood. Now, it seemed cold, yet inviting, as if it wanted people to explore it or, more specifically, wanted her.

Elise dropped her things on the side of the road, hiding them in the tall blades of grass. She was going to start over and jump into the future, without a plan or anything to guide her. She broke into a run, moving at top speed towards the forest. The wind howled around her ears, but to her, they were shouting encouragement. The woods grew larger, seemingly running towards her as well. The bushes grew thicker, brushing against her legs.

Then, she came to the edge. For the first time in her life, she was sure of something, and that was that she had to run.

She plunged into the dark forest.

**WOOHOO! GO ELISE!**

**Okay, I'm gonna need a few reviews before I continue. Trust me, I wrote a long chapter just because I had to go ahead and get this part over with so that we could jump into the real action. **

**I've already planned out this story. I am thinking about doing a "series" for this, but I'm not sure. I need some feedback people!**

**Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back and better than ever, people.**

**Just kidding. I'm so tired I might as well be considered dead. **

**Yeah, no joke on that.**

**Also, I must've read the guidelines wrong or something, because I got mixed up on a few of the rules. Don't worry, I have fixed the mistakes (thanks to The 379****th**** Hero. I didn't catch those, so thank you for your pointers!).**

**Just a warning to some of you people…**

**THINGS TO NOT SAY TO HALT. EVER. UNLESS YOU LIKE THE FEELING OF A COLD KNIFE IN YOUR BACK:**

**"Huh? Oh, hi Halt! I didn't see you down there!"**

**"Now, now, Halt, don't be short with me."**

**"Oh, this is your house? It's tiny! But I guess it is fitting…"**

**"You're Halt, right? Oh, nothing. It's just…you look taller in the pictures."**

**If you aren't dead by now, you must be either King Duncan or…King Duncan.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the OCs and plot.**

Chapter Two

Elise dove into the dark forest, fear and total uncertainty resonating through her bones. The trees around her seemed to reach out their long branches to block her path and whip her limbs and cut face as she ran, causing the sweat that reached the bleeding cuts to have a new unpleasant purpose – making the cuts burn like fire.

She pumped her legs harder than she ever had before. Blood rushed by her ears, drowning out any other sounds through the woods except for the wind now whistling and howling by her ears. Sweat dripped into her eyes, but she didn't slow, and she certainly didn't dare to stop. Her heart pounded in her chest and her head throbbed. Her feet cried out for mercy, but she had to get away from her old home.

_You're only 9! _her mind screamed, making her head feel light and airy. _You can't survive in the woods yet! You'll die!_

_What ever is here is better than what is behind me, _she countered.

She dodged the trees – which were becoming thicker around their trucks – and leapt over the fallen giants. Her feet thudded solidly on the moss-covered ground over and over again and her arms were constantly moving to help her navigate her way through the close trees.

She tried not to take too long or make too much of a trail, but the forest was just too dense and thick – making this action quite impossible.

The sweat pouring into her eyes burned and she squeezed them shut, blindly stumbling through the thickets.

All of a sudden, she fell 3 feet onto hard packed dirt face-first. She heard the sound of metal on leather and fearfully looked up to see 4 men dressed in purple and brown and equipped with a lot of weapons pointing their swords at her throat. Unfortunately, she recognized the people they were.

Genovesans. They had set up camp in the clearing she had accidentally stumbled into and a lazy curl of smoke was rising from their fire. Of course, looking around her, how did a clearing form in the middle of the crowded forest?

"Who are you?" one demanded. He held two daggers dipped in a sticky blue liquid. Both weapons were an inch from her face.

She eyed them all cautiously, but came to the inevitable conclusion that if she didn't tell them, they would kill her anyway. If she did, she had a slight chance of surviving this encounter.

"Elise," she replied, still not moving from her stomach-down position. "Elise Lila Hazelwood." The man nodded thoughtfully.

He bent down on one knee, not withdrawing his very dangerous (and very fatal) weapons. "And where are you from, Ms. Hazelwood?"

Elise gulped. "Redmont Fief-" she started.

"YOU LIE!" he screamed. "Redmont is in an entire different direction than the one you just came from." He pointed behind her. She didn't turn to look – surely they would slit her throat at the first chance.

"No," he smirked. "I'd say you're from Norgate Fief, yes?" Her eyes widened. She hadn't run in a straight line, had she? She'd felt so twisted around in the woods that she might as well have walked in ninety circles around this clearing.

"I'll take that as a yes," he continued. "Well, you're about one league (3.5 miles for you fellow people who have no idea what a league is) from the outskirts of town, so that begs the question…"

He leaned in closer. "Why are you all the way out here?"

She took a deep breath. "I was playing-"

"STOP LYING TO ME!" he demanded. "Why-are-you-here?" He said the last bit forcefully, saying each word individually.

"I ran away," she said, and she told them everything. She didn't know why, but she was sure that she could trust them. Truth be told, she was terrified of these men, but she wasn't about to give in. Apparently, the Genovesan noticed this quality as well.

"You have nowhere to go, yes?"

She nodded.

"You need something to do to help you earn your living, yes?"

She nodded again.

The Genovesan stood and put away his twin daggers. "The job of an assassin is quite worthwhile. I have been looking for a new apprentice, and I now offer that spot to you." She considered the thought.

_Me? Become an Assassin? I…I don't know. I haven't really thought about it before…_

"No one will push you around," he said. "No one can tell you what to do ever again. And the best part-" he leaned closer to her ear and started whispering. "We kill whoever we want, or whoever our clients want. It really is a win-win situation."

Elise thought of everything that she could do. The possibilities seemed endless. Her heart twisted and a seed of revenge and anger grew and spread through her chest until her whole body burned with anticipation.

She grinned devilishly. "I'm in."

**Review!**


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